EDINBURGH, Scotland, Oct 19, 2009 (UPI via COMTEX) -- Scottish scientists say
an immune system study may help explain why younger people are more susceptible
to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease than older people.
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh say patients diagnosed with variant
CJD are, on average, 28 years old -- but it's been unclear why older people are
not as affected by the disease.
A study at the university's Roslin Institute has identified specific cells
within the immune system that attract corrupted proteins --known as prions --
that are linked to variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
The study looked at how the cells behaved in mice and found the cells were
impaired in older mice. As a result, they were unable to trap and replicate the
prions and the mice did not develop clinical disease.
"It has always been unclear why younger people were more susceptible to variant
CJD and the assumption that they were more likely to eat cheap meat products is
far too simplistic," Neil Mabbott, who led the study, said. "Understanding what
happens to these cells, which are important for the body's immune responses,
could help us develop better ways of diagnosing variant CJD or even find ways of
preventing prions from spreading to the brain. It could also help to create a
vaccine."
The findings appear in The Journal of Immunology.
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Copyright 2009 by United Press International